The history of ginger goes farther back than 5,000 years ago when the Chinese and Indians used this spices as a cure for just about everything. The spice was also used by the Romans, but the Arabs are said to have taken over the trade of ginger after the fall of the Roman Empire. By medieval ages, it had become quite expensive and was often imported to Europe of baked goods.

Ginger is in the same family as the spices turmeric and cardamom. Ginger comes in a couple different forms and each form has a different thing you can do with it. You can consume ginger as a juice or oil, powdered, fresh, dried, or as a tea.

Ginger Health Benefits

1. Muscle Pain

It has been found that if you take in two grams of ginger, once a day, for 11 days, then you should not have nearly as much pain or trouble with cramps or soreness you get from exercising.

2.  Diabetes

Again, two grams of ginger can do wonders. When dealing with heart-related problems, two grams of powdered ginger a day can lower your blood sugar. If you have Type Two, two grams of ginger a day can help to lower the chances of heart diseases.

 

3. Nausea

Ginger has been used to calm sea sickness for quite some time, but it has also been used to calm upset stomachs of people undergoing chemo or people who have recently had surgery.

If you have been pregnant or have known someone who was, then you know that the mother oftentimes suffers from morning sickness. Despite all of the other amounts suggested have been two grams it is suggested that pregnant women have no more than one gram to a gram and a half. If you really want to play it safe, ask your doctor about amounts. Too much ginger can actually raise the chances of miscarriage.

 

4. Osteoarthritis

For those of you may not know what Osteoarthritis is, it is the degeneration of joints in your body. Ginger can help to lessen the inflammation that might be suffered and cause pain. You can paste or lotion using ginger, sesame oil, cinnamon, and mastic that you can apply to wherever you feel pain thanks to the osteoarthritis.

5. Infection

Fresh ginger has a bioactive power called gingerol and it can fight off infection. Fresh ginger can be used against oral bacteria and the RSV virus that leads to respiratory infections.

 

6. Indigestion

If you have trouble with indigestion, try eating a gram of powdered ginger before you eat. Ginger is able to quicken how long your body has to take to digest. If you suffer from indigestion, this should be able to help you at least a little bit. If you do not like the taste of straight ginger, adding it to the meal can lessen the time as well, just not as well.

7. Cancer

Gingerol has already been mentioned, but like there are different forms of vitamin B, there are different forms of gingerol. The gingerol that can help to fight cancer is 6-gingerol. It is found in raw ginger.

The ginger- two grams of it- reduce molecules in the colon that summon inflammation. Sadly, there have not been any studies that show that the 6-gingerol helps higher at-risk people with colon cancer.

Ginger is supposed to help people with ovarian, pancreatic, and breast cancer. More tests are needed to see just how much it can help.

 

8. Alzheimer’s

Ginger had antioxidants and bioactive components that stop inflammation of the brain. Ginger is also capable of increasing brain function. By increasing brain function, it has been found that ginger helps with memory and reflexes.

9. Menstrual Pain

Every female out there know just how bad, annoying, and painful a menstrual cycle can be, right? Ginger might be of benefit. Consuming a gram of ginger once a day for the first three days of your cycle might lessen the cramping pains.

Some women have even said that ginger was able to ease their discomfort as well and ibuprofen and mefenamic acid were.

 

10. Cholesterol

So everyone hears about how bad high cholesterol is. There are ways to lower high cholesterol naturally and one of those ways is through ginger. Food is the main influence over your cholesterol. Rather rising, try lowering it with ginger extract. The ginger reduces the blood triglycerides as well as the cholesterol.

 

11. Antioxidant

The antioxidants in ginger are truly amazing. By fighting off free radicals and other bacterias and viruses, ginger can keep a large array of things at bay. It fights off Huntington’s, tumor growth, cancer, heart disease, signs of aging, and Parkinson’s.

12. Weight Loss

Ginger suppresses obesity. So if you combine ginger with decent exercise, it should keep you fit.

 

13. Inflammation

Inflammation is what causes most pains when you suffer from it. Ginger is good calming that inflammation, no matter how bad. Ginger is so good at stopping inflammation because it suppresses chemokines and cytokines. Cytokines and chemokines are the components that line join cartilage, joints, and immune cells.

 

14. Congestion

Ginger is an expectorant. Expectorants are substances that break up phlegm in your air passages and lungs and ultimately cough it up. Ginger works in this way because it relaxes the muscles around your airways. The muscle relaxation will also help people with asthma and allergies to breath more easily.

15.  Eczema

Eczema is annoying to deal with and ginger can help to calm and soothe it through the 6-shogaol component in it. If you use a non-medicated lotion for your eczema, then you might want to look into just adding some powdered to it before rubbing it into your skin.

 

16. Liver Protection

Ginger can help the liver in amazing ways. That is very good considering all that humans put the liver through in the first place. Taking medications for a long while can put stress on the liver. Ginger can help to protect the liver and kidneys from the harm that the meds can do to them.

17. DNA

There are a lot of things that can harm and mess up a person’s DNA. Ginger stops the damage done to DNA by aflatoxin B1 (a kind of mold). This spice is also able to make men more fertile because it protects sperm from oxidative stress.   

 

With all blessings come a curse. Despite all of the helpful things that ginger can do for your body, More than four grams of ginger in any form can result in gas, mouth and heartburn, and stomach aches. Take ginger in moderation to get all of these great health benefits.

Sources

https://www.selfhacked.com/blog/scientifically-proven-health-benefits-of-ginger/

https://blog.paleohacks.com/benefits-of-ginger/

https://blog.paleohacks.com/benefits-of-ginger/

https://www.healthline.com/health/ginger-water

http://www.indepthinfo.com/ginger/history.shtml

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-proven-benefits-of-ginger